Share this:

Two of the standout Seahawks from Seattle’s preseason victory over the Chicago Bears last week are now sidelined with groin injuries.

Linebacker Heath Farwell, a nine-year veteran who has been a key special teams player in Seattle since 2011, will likely require surgery on a groin strain he suffered in Friday’s 34-6 victory at CenturyLink Field.

Farwell appeared to suffer the injury about six minutes before the end of the fourth quarter, when he stretched out in the end zone to defend a pass from Chicago quarterback Jimmy Clausen to receiver Armanti Edwards. Farwell laid on the end-zone turf until he was helped off the field by Seattle trainers.

“Heath is going back east to get evaluated — he probably has to have surgery on his groin,” Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll said Monday after practice. “So that’s a very difficult situation for him. He had extensive damage, so everything points to surgery.”

Meanwhile, cornerback Jeremy Lane sat out Monday’s practice with his own groin injury from Friday’s exhibition tilt. Lane led the Hawks with six total tackles and three passes defended, plus an interception at the 2-yard line that he returned 41 yards the other way.

“We don’t know how serious it is,” Carroll said of Lane’s injury. “We did check it out and it looks like it’s going to be OK, but he’s gotta respond and come back. I don’t know, and we’ll just check him again tomorrow.”

But there was some good injury news Monday. Tight end Cooper Helfet is recovering more quickly than expected from a cartwheeling play Friday in which he injured a shoulder, knee and “something else,” as Carroll said after the game.

“He came back a little better than we had hoped,” Carroll said of Helfet. “He’s still got a sore knee — it got a little strained. We’ll have to wait and see; we’re going day-to-day with that.”

Injuries could be a problem for the Seahawks as their regular-season opener approaches. Several more key Hawks may miss Seattle’s Sept. 4 matchup with the Green Bay Packers, and others could be playing at less than 100 percent.

Linebacker Bruce Irvin, who is recovering from offseason hip surgery, is unlikely to return in time for the opener at CenturyLink Field. The 2012 first-round draft pick has yet to practice with the team, let alone suit up for a preseason game.

Seahawks cornerback Jeremy Lane is sidelined with a groin strain after a standout performance in Friday’s preseason victory over the Bears, in which he returned an interception for 41 yards (pictured). (John Froschauer/AP Photo)

“He’s doing great. This week is a big week for him to get ready to practice next week,” Carroll said Monday. “We plan on him practicing next week, if all goes well, and we’ll see what that means once we get him out there.

“He’s working really hard — all his change-of-direction stuff, full-speed running, all of that’s happening — but we’re gonna wait and make sure that every day goes well, and hopefully get him out there cranking next week.”

Rookie wide receiver Kevin Norwood is still recovering from surgery to remove bone spurs from his foot, the result of an injury that has lingered since his college days at Alabama. His uncertain return has raised concerns about the Seahawks’ receiving corps as the team looks to replace Golden Tate, who signed in the offseason with the Detroit Lions, and now-retired Sidney Rice.

Norwood’s future in Seattle is up in the air, as the Seahawks must finalize their first round of roster cuts Tuesday and further pare the team down to 53 men on Saturday. If Norwood makes the team as a fourth-rounder but is not healthy enough to play, he could open the 2014 season on Seattle’s “physically unable to perform” list.

“We think we’ve seen a lot of him and we really can evaluate him already, based on the work that he’s done,” Carroll said Monday. “(The injury) hasn’t helped him knowing the offense and (to) have his timing down and the discipline of the reps and the routes and all of that. But athletically he’s really talented. He can catch the football like crazy, he runs good routes, he’s strong, he’s very competitive at the point with the ball. We’ve seen all that stuff already, we already know that — he’s just behind.”

Finally, Carroll said he was pleased with the return of center Max Unger (groin) and left tackle Russell Okung (foot), both of whom are recovering from injuries. But Carroll said Okung, who had surgery in the offseason to repair his foot, has the most work to do.

“Max (Unger) did great — probably played a little more than we thought he would. He did a really good job,” Carroll said. “Russell (Okung) got through it. He had a little more of a conditioning factor for him; that’s why we put him in and out of there a little bit. He needs to work this week again, but he looks great in practice. I think he’s making progress.”

Monday also was linebacker Bobby Wagner’s first full day back at practice after suffering a hamstring strain in training camp before the first preseason game. Carroll said it was smart to wait this long to let Wagner back on the turf, to give his hamstring time to heal.

“I feel great,” Wagner said Monday. “I feel fine. I’ve been doing as much conditioning as I possibly can, and when I got out there I didn’t feel tired at all.”